Detroit-based Compuware swung to a $17-million net loss for its fiscal year 2013, a year after posting a profit of $88 million.

The company, which recorded a 6% revenue decline to $945 million, has come under scrutiny for its financial performance after a takeover bid by New York hedge fund Elliott Management.

Compuware CEO Bob Paul said the company is taking aggressive measures to reduce its costs and boost its margins, “although we should have started earlier,” he said.

Compuware said it expects to have $19 million in reduced "people costs" in the 2014 fiscal year after actions that have already taken place, including layoffs in March.

The company on March 1 announced plans to lay off 160 employees and close or shrink 16 offices, part of a two-year plan to cut $80 million to $100 million in costs.

Elliott and Compuware recently extended an agreement that sets the ground rules for the hedge fund’s unsolicited acquisition bid. The move, which sets a fresh expiration date of July 15, gives Elliott additional time to weigh its own bid to acquire Compuware before potentially turning to other options.

Speculation is swirling that Elliott could identify new ways to pursue its bid for Compuware. Those options could include partnering with an investment group that recently acquired Compuware competitor BMC Software and then try to combine the company with Compuware, according to reports.

“We continue to remain open to reviewing credible offers,” Paul said on the conference call.

Compuware, one of downtown Detroit’s largest employers, posted a loss of $64 million in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31 after recording a profit of $27 million in the same period a year earlier. Paul said he’s “very confident that we will overcome our past execution” mistakes.

That included a $72-million impairment charge in the fourth quarter connected to the carrying value of its professional services division.

The company also posted a 10% revenue decline to $240 million, while operating expenses rose to $311 million from $230 million. Executives blamed the revenue dip in part on business deals that failed to close in the fourth quarter. The company said it expects 60% of those deals to close in its first quarter.

The company said it expects 2014 fiscal revenue of $1 billion. Its 2013 results marked the company’s third-lowest revenue since 1998.

Paul said there’s “full board support of our plan.”

The firm said that its cloud-computing subsidiary, Covisint, which recently filed papers to go public, posted 2013 fiscal-year revenue of $91 million with expenses of $86 million. Compuware had 4,567 employees in 2012, including 1,973 at its downtown Detroit headquarters.

Contact: Nathan Bomey at 313-223-4743 or nbomey@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @NathanBomey. Detroit Free Press Business Writer J.C. Reindl contributed to this report.